Ooh! This one’s really good! It clearly tastes like an oolong, and I definitely taste a fruitiness moreso than floral taste. This is really, really delicious! I’m actually rather surprised! The aroma is also fruity rather than floral. I’m really pleasantly blown away by this one! It’s also deliciously buttery and good. Man… I’m so impressed! I would buy this again in a heartbeat :) I used about 3g of leaf (maybe 4 by accident?) in about 8 oz., maybe less, water, at 94C. Yum! Going to go do another couple infusions now. Thanks to Fong Mong Tea for this sample!

ETA: Second infusion (94C/3 min I think, or possibly 4) is not nearly as tasty :( Smells like an oolong, tastes like a weak oolong that has somehow been oversteeped. I’m a bit disappointed. The first infusion was spectacular. Downgrading the rating a bit, because I expect at least 3 good infusions from an oolong, otherwise it’s not worth my while as they are typically expensive. It’s possible that I used too much water, and did use 4 min which was too much, but I’m not sure. I’ll try a third with quite a bit less water.

ETA again: Sadly, disappointed with the third infusion as well. There’s a bit of oolonginess, but it’s just not up to par with other oolongs I’ve had. I’m so disappointed because that first infusion was worthy of a high 90 rating.

PM me & let me know who you are Kitt -you can always delete the sent msg from your mailbox. Or Amy , you could let me know. :)) I still don’t know who Kittenna is {oh wait, maybe I do-but I’m not sure]. ://

PM me & let me know who you are Kitt -you can always delete the sent msg from your mailbox. Or Amy , you could let me know. :)) I still don’t know who Kittenna is {oh wait, maybe I do-but I’m not sure]. ://

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Bio

I have always been a tea fan (primarily herbals and Japanese greens/oolongs) but in the last year or so, tea has become increasingly more appealing as not only a delicious, calming drink, but as a relatively cheap, healthy reward or treat to give myself when I deserve something. I should clarify that, however; the reward is expanding my tea cupboard, not drinking tea – I place no restrictions on myself in terms of drinking anything from my cupboard as that would defeat my many goals!

My DavidsTea addiction was born in late 2011, despite having spent nearly a year intentionally avoiding their local mall location (but apparently it was just avoiding the inevitable!). I seem to have some desire to try every tea they’ve ever had, so much of my stash is from there, although I’ve recently branched out and ordered from numerous other companies.

I like to try and drink all my teas unaltered, as one of the main reasons I’m drinking tea other than for the flavour is to be healthy and increase my water intake without adding too many calories! I’ve found that the trick in this regard is to be very careful about steeping time, as most teas are quite pleasant to drink straight as long as they haven’t been oversteeped. However, I tend to be forgetful (particularly at work) when I don’t set a timer, resulting in a few horrors (The Earl’s Garden is not so pleasant after, say, 7+ minutes of steeping).

I’m currently trying to figure out which types of teas are my favourites. Herbals are no longer at the top; oolongs have thoroughly taken over that spot, with greens a reasonably close second. My preference is for straight versions of both, but I do love a good flavoured oolong (flavoured greens are really hit or miss for me). Herbals I do love iced/cold-brewed, but I drink few routinely (Mulberry Magic from DavidsTea being a notable exception). I’m learning to like straight black teas thanks to the chocolatey, malty, delicious Laoshan Black from Verdant Tea, and malty, caramelly flavoured blacks work for me, but I’m pretty picky about anything with astringency. Lately I’ve found red rooibos to be rather medicinal, which I dislike, but green rooibos and honeybush blends are tolerable. I haven’t explored pu’erh, mate, or guayasa a great deal (although I have a few options in my cupboard).

I’ve decided to institute a rating system so my ratings will be more consistent. Following the smiley/frowny faces Steepster gives us:

100: This tea is amazing and I will go out of my way to keep it in stock.

85-99: My core collection (or a tea that would be, if I was allowing myself to restock everything!) Teas I get cravings for, and drink often.

75-84: Good but not amazing; I might keep these in stock sparingly depending on current preferences.

67-74: Not bad, I’ll happily finish what I have but probably won’t ever buy it again as there’s likely something rated more highly that I prefer.

51-66: Drinkable and maybe has some aspect that I like, but not really worth picking up again.

34-50: Not for me, but I can see why others might like it. I’ll make it through the cup and maybe experiment with the rest to get rid of it.

0-33: It’s a struggle to get through the cup, if I do at all. I will not willingly consume this one again, and will attempt to get rid of the rest of the tea if I have any left.